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March 21, 2010
9 Down, 43 To Go "The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side" (52 Books, 52 Weeks)
The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side impresses immediately with its cover. The middle of the cover is actual black velvet, surrounded by Andy Warhol's portraits of the band members. Less critical than photographic history, the book is filled with band photos (both casual and performance), ticket stubs, concert posters, and even a shot of Andy Warhol working on the iconic cover art for the first Velvet Underground album. The collection of live bootleg covers in the back of the book as well as photos of Lou Reed's musical notations for several songs are particularly enchanting
Music books tend to underwhelm me, especially books of photography, but The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side truly comes through with a splendid pictorial biography of this seminal band in a book as beautiful as it is enlightening about the Velvet Underground.
My next book is Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture, by Alice Echols.
also at Largehearted Boy:
52 Books, 52 Weeks
Online "best of 2009" book lists
Online "best of 2008" book lists
Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
